Violin beetles are carnivorous and use their elongated heads to search crevices for small larvae. Their larvae have been found living in tunnels in the large bracket fungi that are common in the humid forests of Malaysia. Violin beetles, as well as other carabids with a very flat or depressed body form, are found in soil cracks, under bark, or in the axils of bromeliads. The flattened form allows the beetles to move more freely below the soil, subcortical space, or between appressed leaf sheaths.
The violin beetles common name comes from the fact that their outline resembles the musical instrument. The beetles are 10 cm (4 inches) long, and have large, flat, translucent expansions on each side of the body. These expansions are projections of the wing covers, or elytra.
In M. phylloides, the pygidial glands, which eject fluids used for defense, eject butyric acid. This defense compound is capable of paralyzing fingers for 24 hours after contact.
When violin beetles were first discovered, collectors paid high prices for specimens. They are not particularly rare, but if deforestation of their rain-forest habitat continues at the present rate, these beetles and numerous other insects may become extinct.
Josh Ash & Ike Vinson
ENT 301; Fall 2000
This beetle is from Maylaysia.
